LauraFrog
Fish Gatherer
If you only want one betta and you want to keep it with endlers, it doesn't really matter all that much if it's male or female. For general communities, female bettas are the right choice. Not only can you keep several, but they are less aggressive and have less fins for other fish to nip.
But in a setup that is designed for a betta, the sex of the betta does not really matter. You can get either. Males and females are equally colourful but males are more impressive with their bigger fins.
You should get only male endler's livebearers. Females are very plain looking, so if you want small and colourful fish you would not want females anyway. Females will already be pregnant when you buy them, resulting in your tank being rapidly overrun with baby endlers. If you get only males you'll avoid this problem entirely. Bettas do not attack fish because they are colourful, but they may act aggressively towards fish with large, flowing fins, so you should avoid male fancy guppies with big fins. Endlers or guppy males with small fins are okay.
You could also think about platys for a tank that size - they are very peaceful and active and ideal tank mates for bettas. They are also livebearers, so I would recommend getting all males if you chose platys. The females are equally colourful, but because they store sperm you may end up with hundreds of fry from a group of six or so - they can keep having fry monthly for six months after one mating.
If you don't go with livebearers (ie you get harlequin rasboras or something) the sex of those doesn't matter at all. The only reason we're telling you to get male livebearers is that getting females will result in uncontrollable breeding. Besides, female endlers are colourless grey fish.
Tiger barbs are absolutely not a good choice for bettas, I can't agree with that at all. They are nippy, aggressive, and like to move in swift and jerky motions that would totally freak out a betta. Loaches are good, and a 20 gal tank is large enough for some of the smaller loaches like Kuhlis. Don't get clown loaches, as they grow extremely large and need a tank of about 50 gals minimum.
You could also have corydoras catfish or one or two bristlenose catfish.
Here is what you should AVOID keeping with bettas:
- Gouramis. These are in the same family as bettas and too closely related. They may be attacked.
- Paradise fish - as above.
- Tetras. They like to nip the long fins of bettas. There are two or three species that are occasionally acceptable but they require too much work.
- Barbs. Too nippy, too aggressive, too stressful.
- Male guppies with long fins - they are likely to be attacked.
- Female bettas with males
- Two males together
- Between two and four females - likely to be issues with bullying - ganging up on one, or a single tank bully. With five or more females, this problem rarely occurs.
Listen to Honeythorn, you picked right, she knows what she's on about.
But in a setup that is designed for a betta, the sex of the betta does not really matter. You can get either. Males and females are equally colourful but males are more impressive with their bigger fins.
You should get only male endler's livebearers. Females are very plain looking, so if you want small and colourful fish you would not want females anyway. Females will already be pregnant when you buy them, resulting in your tank being rapidly overrun with baby endlers. If you get only males you'll avoid this problem entirely. Bettas do not attack fish because they are colourful, but they may act aggressively towards fish with large, flowing fins, so you should avoid male fancy guppies with big fins. Endlers or guppy males with small fins are okay.
You could also think about platys for a tank that size - they are very peaceful and active and ideal tank mates for bettas. They are also livebearers, so I would recommend getting all males if you chose platys. The females are equally colourful, but because they store sperm you may end up with hundreds of fry from a group of six or so - they can keep having fry monthly for six months after one mating.
If you don't go with livebearers (ie you get harlequin rasboras or something) the sex of those doesn't matter at all. The only reason we're telling you to get male livebearers is that getting females will result in uncontrollable breeding. Besides, female endlers are colourless grey fish.
Tiger barbs are absolutely not a good choice for bettas, I can't agree with that at all. They are nippy, aggressive, and like to move in swift and jerky motions that would totally freak out a betta. Loaches are good, and a 20 gal tank is large enough for some of the smaller loaches like Kuhlis. Don't get clown loaches, as they grow extremely large and need a tank of about 50 gals minimum.
You could also have corydoras catfish or one or two bristlenose catfish.
Here is what you should AVOID keeping with bettas:
- Gouramis. These are in the same family as bettas and too closely related. They may be attacked.
- Paradise fish - as above.
- Tetras. They like to nip the long fins of bettas. There are two or three species that are occasionally acceptable but they require too much work.
- Barbs. Too nippy, too aggressive, too stressful.
- Male guppies with long fins - they are likely to be attacked.
- Female bettas with males
- Two males together
- Between two and four females - likely to be issues with bullying - ganging up on one, or a single tank bully. With five or more females, this problem rarely occurs.
Listen to Honeythorn, you picked right, she knows what she's on about.
, ally86ozzy
i will probally post in a couple of days telling you my decision and have about 100 more questions thank you!!
